Dec. 6—Last week, a 38-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison for the beating of his wife that a young child filmed, the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office said.
According to officials, Miguel Lazaro-Castillo was arrested on Oct. 9 at his residence in the 4200 block of Larson Street in Olivehurst after the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call from one of his children just before 2 a.m.
The Yuba County District Attorney’s Office said when deputies arrived, Lazaro-Castillo’s wife was lying face down on the floor, surrounded by bloody napkins. With their three children present, Lazaro-Castillo was found “sitting on top of her.” The ages of the children present were 15, 14, and 9.
Officials said Lazaro-Castillo at first denied hitting his wife and claimed that he didn’t know where the blood had come from. Deputies later discovered that the 9-year-old child had videotaped the incident.
“The video lasted over six minutes and showed Lazaro-Castillo repeatedly hitting his wife in the head and face,” the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office said. “One of the children tried to protect her mother, shielding her with her hands. Lazaro-Castillo slapped the child on the leg and continued assaulting his wife. Lazaro-Castillo turned his wife onto her stomach and forced her face down into the carpet for an extended amount of time.”
The DA’s office said Lazaro-Castillo, his wife, and one of their children “were intoxicated.” The children were subsequently placed into protective custody and Lazaro-Castillo was arrested.
Lazaro-Castillo pleaded no contest in October to charges that included felony domestic violence, false imprisonment, and misdemeanor child abuse. With no prior criminal record, he “received the maximum sentence for felony domestic violence based on the brutality of his actions and his utter disregard for his children,” the DA’s office said.
On Dec. 1, Yuba County Judge Julia Scrogin sentenced Lazaro-Castillo to serve the maximum term of four years in prison.